Solid-state imaging device, fabrication method of the same, and camera module

ABSTRACT

There is provided a solid-state imaging device including: a semiconductor package support mounting a solid-state image sensor; bonding wires electrically connecting first terminals formed on the solid-state image sensor and second terminals formed on the semiconductor package support; a sealing member sealing at least the second terminals to which the bonding wires are connected; and an optically-transparent member made of an optically-transparent material and disposed above the solid-state image sensor, in which the optically-transparent member is supported by different support members formed on the semiconductor package support at three or more positions not on a single straight line.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2005-356354 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Dec.9, 2005, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device, afabrication method thereof, and a camera module. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a solid-state imaging device using asemiconductor package support mounting a solid-state image sensor, afabrication method and a camera module.

2. Description of Related Art

Recently, it is required for a solid-state imaging camera module using aCCD imager or a CMOS imager to be mounted, as a camera system includinga signal processing unit, on a mobile terminal such as mobile phones andpersonal digital assistance (PDA).

A related art solid-state imaging camera module will be described withreference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross sectional viewillustrating a related art solid-state imaging camera module. Thesolid-state imaging camera module 101 shown in the figure has a CCDsolid-state imaging device (semiconductor package) 102 and a lens barrel103.

The above-described CCD solid-state imaging device 102 has a CCDsolid-state image sensor 106 adhered to a semiconductor package support104 with die paste 105. First terminals 116 formed on the CCDsolid-state image sensor 106 are electrically connected to secondterminals 117 formed on the semiconductor package support with bondingwires 107. A step 118 is formed on the semiconductor package support.Seal glass 110 is mounted on, or disposed and fixed to, the step withsealing resin 109 therearound to close an opening 108 of thesemiconductor package support.

The lens barrel 103 has a lens 111 for focusing an image onto the CCDsolid-state image sensor and an optical filter (not shown) for shieldingan infrared light, and is fixed to the CCD solid-state imaging devicewith lens fixing resin 112.

Further, the CCD solid-state imaging device 102 is connected to aflexible circuit board 114 for electrically connecting the CCDsolid-state image sensor and other circuits, with solder bumps 113formed on the bottom of the semiconductor package support. Electroniccomponents 115 are mounted on the flexible circuit board 114 to formcircuits.

In order to meet requirements for compact solid-state imaging devices, asolid-state imaging device has been proposed which has a structure thatseal glass is mounted on the upper surface of a semiconductor packagesupport (refer to FIG. 7A).

In a case where a step is formed on the semiconductor package supportand seal glass is mounted on the step as in the case of the structureshown in FIG. 6, the solid-state imaging device becomes larger in sizethan the seal glass by a region outside the step (region indicated by asymbol A in FIG. 6). In contrast, in a case in which seal glass ismounted on the upper surface of the semiconductor package support, asshown in FIG. 7A, the solid-state imaging device has generally the samesize as that of the seal glass so that the solid-state imaging devicecan be made compact. This is a reason of proposal of the solid-stateimaging device having the structure that seal glass is mounted on theupper surface of a semiconductor package support.

Demands for making solid-state imaging devices more compact are strongnowadays. In order to satisfy these demands, a solid-state imagingdevice has been proposed which has a structure that bonding wires aresealed with a sealing member 119 of resin material or the like and sealglass is mounted on the upper surface of the sealing member, asdescribed in Japanese Patent Application Publication KOKAI No.2003-332542 (refer to FIG. 7B).

In the case of the structure as shown in FIG. 7A, it is necessary toform a region for supporting the seal glass in a region outside thesecond terminals formed on the semiconductor package support (in theregion indicated by a symbol B in FIG. 7A) . In contrast, in a case ofthe structure that bonding wires are sealed with the sealing member andseal glass is mounted on the upper surface of the sealing member, asshown in FIG. 7B, it is not necessary to form a region for supportingthe seal glass in the region outside the second terminals so that thesolid-state imaging device can be made compact. This is a reason ofproposal of the solid-state imaging having the structure that bondingwires are sealed with the sealing member and the seal glass is mountedon the upper surface of the sealing member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the above-described solid-state imaging device, it is howeverdifficult to retain a levelness of the seal glass mounted on the uppersurface of the sealing member of resin material or the like.

The solid-state imaging device whose seal glass is mounted on the uppersurface of the sealing member is fabricated as in the following. Bondingwires are sealed with resin material or the like, and before the resinmaterial is cured, the seal glass is disposed on the upper surface ofthe resin material, thereafter the resin material is cured to fix theseal glass. However, in this case, when the seal glass is disposed onthe resin material, the resin material is still not cured so that theseal glass is disposed on the resin material in a non-cured state (in asoft state), causing it difficult to retain a levelness of the sealglass.

It is possible to retain a levelness of the seal glass by curing theresin material which sealed bonding wires and thereafter disposing theseal glass on the cured resin material. However, in the case of curingthe resin material and thereafter disposing the seal glass on the curedresin material, it is necessary to wait until the resin material iscured so that yield is lowered by an amount corresponding to the timetaken to cure the resin material. Further, in order to fix the sealglass disposed on the cured resin material, it is necessary to coatsealing resin on the cured resin material, or on the seal glass, and todispose the seal glass on the cured resin material having the sealingresin there between. An additional process and material are required dueto a sealing resin coating work. It is therefore not always proper toadopt this method of curing the resin material and mounting the sealglass on the cured resin material.

The present invention has been made to address the above issue, andthere are provided solid-state imaging devices capable of being madecompact and realizing improvement on a levelness of seal glass, afabrication method thereof, and a camera module using the solid-stateimaging device of this type.

A solid-state imaging device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a semiconductor package support, bonding wires, asealing member, and an optically-transparent member. The semiconductorpackage support is mounting a solid-state image sensor. The bondingwires are electrically connecting first terminals formed on thesolid-state image sensor and second terminals formed on thesemiconductor package support. The sealing member seals at least thesecond terminals to which the bonding wires are connected. Theoptically-transparent member is made of an optically-transparentmaterial, and is disposed above the solid-state image sensor. In thedevice, the optically-transparent member is supported by differentsupport members formed on the semiconductor package support at three ormore positions not on a single straight line.

Since the optically-transparent member is supported by the differentsupport members formed on the semiconductor package support at three ormore positions not on a single straight line, it is not necessary tosupport the optically-transparent member only by the sealing memberbefore curing. It is therefore possible to retain a levelness of theoptically-transparent member even if it is disposed before the sealingmember is cured.

The “different support members formed on the semiconductor packagesupport at three or more positions not on a single straight line” may beformed integrally with the semiconductor package support or may be thesupport members formed separately from the semiconductor package supportand mounted on the semiconductor package support.

The reason of employing “different support members at three or morepositions not on a single straight line” is as follows. A flat surfacecan be defined by different three or more points not disposed on thestraight line. Therefore, a flat surface to be formed by theoptically-transparent member can be defined by the “different supportmembers at three or more positions not on a single straight line”.

By sealing not only the second terminals but also the first terminalswith the sealing member, it is possible to reduce moisture permeationinto the connection regions between the terminals and bonding wires, andto suppress corrosion and improve the product quality. Further, sinceall the first and second terminals and bonding wires are sealed with thesealing member, it is possible to suppress corrosion of the bondingwires themselves so that a further improved product quality can beexpected.

A fabrication method for a solid-state imaging device according to anembodiment of the present invention is the one for a solid-state imagingdevice including a semiconductor package support mounting a solid-stateimage sensor, bonding wires electrically connecting first terminalsformed on the solid-state image sensor and second terminals formed onthe semiconductor package support, a sealing member for sealing at leastthe second terminals to which the bonding wires are connected, and anoptically-transparent member made of an optically-transparent materialand disposed above the solid-state image sensor, in which theoptically-transparent member is supported by different support membersformed on the semiconductor package support at three or more positionsnot on a single straight line. The method includes steps of: mountingthe solid-state image sensor on the semiconductor package support andelectrically connecting the first terminals and the second terminals bythe bonding wires; sealing the second terminals connected to the bondingwires with a sealing member and thereafter disposing theoptically-transparent member on the support members and the sealingmember; and curing the sealing member to fix the optically-transparentmember.

A fabrication method for a solid-state imaging device according to anembodiment of the present invention is the one for a solid-state imagingdevice including a semiconductor package support mounting a solid-stateimage sensor, bonding wires electrically connecting first terminalsformed on the solid-state image sensor and second terminals formed onthe semiconductor package support, a sealing member for sealing at leastthe second terminals to which the bonding wires are connected, and anoptically-transparent member made of an optically-transparent materialand disposed above the solid-state image sensor, in which theoptically-transparent member is supported by different support membersformed on the semiconductor package support at three or more positionsnot on a single straight line. The method includes steps of: mountingthe solid-state image sensor on the semiconductor package support andelectrically connecting the first terminals and the second terminals bythe bonding wires; disposing the optically-transparent member on thesupport members by using sealing material to fix theoptically-transparent member and thereafter sealing the second terminalsto which the bonding wires are connected with the sealing member; andcuring the sealing member.

By forming the different support members formed on the semiconductorpackage support at three or more positions not on a single straightline, it becomes unnecessary to support the optically-transparent memberonly by the sealing member before curing. It is therefore possibletoretaina levelness of the optically-transparent member even if it isdisposed before the sealing member is cured.

A camera module according to an embodiment of the present inventionincludes a solid-state imaging device, a lens, and a lens barrel. Thesolid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor package supportmounting a solid-state image sensor, bonding wires electricallyconnecting first terminals formed on the solid-state image sensor andsecond terminals formed on the semiconductor package support, a sealingmember sealing at least the second terminals to which the bonding wiresare connected, and an optically-transparent member made of anoptically-transparent material and disposed above the solid-state imagesensor. The lens is disposed above the solid-state imaging device. Thelens barrel supports the lens. In the camera module, theoptically-transparent member is supported by different support membersformed on the semiconductor package support at three or more positionsnot on a single straight line.

Since the optically-transparent member is supported by the differentsupport members formed on the semiconductor package support at three ormore positions not on a single straight line, it is not necessary tosupport the optically-transparent member by the sealing member beforecuring. It is therefore possible to retain a levelness of theoptically-transparent member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic plan view and a schematic crosssectional view illustrating a solid-state imaging device to which anembodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view illustrating a modificationof the solid-state imaging device to which an embodiment of the presentinvention is applied;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow charts illustrating solid-state imaging devicefabrication methods to which an embodiment of the present invention isapplied;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a ceramic substrate;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic plan views and cross sectional viewsexplaining position displacements of seal glass;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross sectional view showing a related artsolid-state imaging camera module; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic cross sectional views showing related artsolid-state imaging devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the presentinvention will now be described to help understand the presentinvention.

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of a CCD solid-state imaging devicewhich is one of solid-state imaging devices to which an embodiment ofthe present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is a schematic crosssectional view taken along symbols I-I shown in FIG. 1A.

In a CCD solid-state imaging device 1 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a CCDsolid-state image sensor 4 is mounted on a ceramic support 2 with diepaste 3, first terminals 5 formed on the CCD solid-state image sensorare electrically connected to second terminals 6 formed on the ceramicsupport by fine gold wires 7. Support members 8 for supporting sealglass to be later described are formed at four corners of the ceramicsupport. The ceramic support is an example of a semiconductor packagesupport, the CCD solid-state image sensor is an example of a solid-stateimage sensor, and the fine gold wire is an example of a bonding wire.

The second terminals and the fine gold wires connected to the secondterminals are sealed with epoxy resin 9, and seal glass 10 is mountedon, or disposed and fixed to, the support members and epoxy resin. Sincethe epoxy resin seals the second terminals and the fine gold wires, itis necessary to select resin which does not contain chemical substances,e.g., iodine, acetic acid and the like, which may cause corrosion of thesecond terminals and the fine gold wires. The epoxy resin is an exampleof the sealing member, and the seal glass is an example of anoptically-transparent member.

The solid-state imaging device 1 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B has a hollowstructure. There is therefore a fear of position displacement of theseal glass to be caused by a pressure difference between the inside andoutside of the solid-state imaging device while epoxy resin is thermallycured. To avoid this, a vent hole 11 is formed through the ceramicsupport 2 to adopt a structure which can remove the pressure differencebetween the inside and outside of the solid-state imaging device 1.Furthermore, in order for a ventilation path to the vent hole 11 not tobe clogged by die paste 3 coated when the CCD solid-state imaging deviceis mounted on the ceramic support 2, an alumina coat 12 is formed on thesurface of the ceramic support 2 to secure the ventilation path.

In this embodiment, the second terminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7connected to the second terminals 6 are sealed with the epoxy resin,i.e., the second terminals 6 and portions of the fine gold wires aresealed with the epoxy resin 9. Instead, all the first terminals 5, thesecond terminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7 may be sealed with theepoxy resin 9.

In the following, description will be made on a fabrication method forthe CCD solid-state imaging device constructed as above. Namely,description will be made on a solid-state imaging device fabricationmethod to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[First Fabrication Method] (refer to FIG. 3A)

In an example of a solid-state imaging device fabrication method towhich an embodiment of the present invention is applied , first, CCDsolid-state image sensors formed on a wafer are subjected to a dicingprocess (wafer dicing) to separate them into discrete CCD solid-stateimage sensors (refer to a symbol a in FIG. 3A) . Discrete CCDsolid-state image sensors are die-bonded to a ceramic substrate 20 (acollective body of ceramic supports, refer to FIG. 4) formed with aplurality of ceramic supports 2 in predetermined areas of respectiveceramic supports 2(refer to a symbol b in FIG. 3A).

Next, a wire bonding process is performed for electrically connectingfirst terminals 5 formed on each CCD solid-state image sensor and secondterminals 6 formed on each ceramic support 2 by fine gold wires 7 (referto a symbol c in FIG. 3A). Thereafter, thermosetting epoxy resin 9 iscoated to cover the second terminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7connected to the second terminals 6 (refer to a symbol d in FIG. 3A).

Next, seal glass 10 is disposed on support members (refer to a symbol ein FIG. 3A), and a heating process is executed to cure the epoxy resin 9coated covering the second terminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7connected to the second terminals 6, and fix the seal glass 10 (refer toa symbol f in FIG. 3A).

Next, the thermosetting epoxy resin 9 is coated on a side end region ofthe seal glass (refer to a symbol g in FIG. 3A), and a heating processis executed to cure the epoxy resin 9 coated in the side end region ofthe seal glass (refer to a symbol h in FIG. 3A).

Coating thermosetting epoxy resin on the side end region of the sealglass and curing the resin is performed to improve air tightness of thesolid-state imaging device. If sufficient air tightness can be obtainedwithout coating epoxy resin on the side end region of the seal glass, itis not necessary to coat epoxy resin on the side end region of the sealglass.

By dicing the ceramic substrate 20 along a dicing line indicated by asymbol X in FIG. 4, the ceramic substrate can be separated into discreteceramic supports to obtain each solid-state imaging device (refer to asymbol i in FIG. 3A). The solid-state image sensors obtained in thismanner are shipped after image quality inspection (refer to a symbol jin FIG. 3A).

[Second Fabrication Method] (refer to FIG. 3B)

In an example of a solid-state imaging device fabrication method towhich an embodiment of the present invention is applied, similar to thefirst fabrication method described above, first, CCD solid-state imagesensors formed on a wafer are subjected to a dicing process (waferdicing) to separate them into discrete CCD solid-state image sensors(refer to a symbol a in FIG. 3B) . Discrete CCD solid-state imagesensors are die-bonded to a ceramic substrate 20 formed with a pluralityof ceramic supports 2 in predetermined areas of respective ceramicsupports (refer to a symbol b in FIG. 3B).

Next, a wire bonding process is performed for electrically connectingfirst terminals 5 formed on each CCD solid-state image sensor 4 andsecond terminals 6 formed on each ceramic support by fine gold wires 7(refer to a symbol c in FIG. 3B).

Next, sealing resin (not shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B) is coated on surfacesof support members (refer to a symbol d in FIG. 3B) and seal glass 10 isdisposed and fixed with the sealing resin (refer to a symbol e in FIG.3B). In the first fabrication method described above, the seal glass 10is disposed on the support members without coating sealing resin so thatthe seal glass 10 is not fixed until resin material is cured. With thesecond fabrication method, however, since the seal glass 10 is disposedon the support members in the state that the sealing resin is coated onthe surfaces of the support members, the seal glass 10 is fixed to thesupport members.

Further, a thermosetting epoxy resin 9 is coated to cover the secondterminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7 connected to the second terminals6, and the thermosetting epoxy resin 9 is coated on the side end regionof the seal glass 10 (refer to a symbol f in FIG. 3B), and thereafter aheating process is executed to cure the epoxy resin 9 coated to coverthe second terminals 6 and the fine gold wires 7 connected to the secondterminals 6, and the epoxy resin 9 coated on the side end region of theseal glass 10 (refer to a symbol g in FIG. 3B).

Similar to the first embodiment described above, coating thermosettingepoxy resin on the side end region of the seal glass and curing theresin is performed to improve air tightness of the solid-state imagingdevice. If sufficient air tightness can be obtained without coatingepoxy resin on the side end region of the seal glass, it is notnecessary to coat the epoxy resin on the side end region of the sealglass.

By dicing the ceramic substrate thereafter, the ceramic substrate can beseparated into discrete ceramic supports to obtain each solid-stateimaging device (refer to a symbol h in FIG. 3B) . The solid-stateimaging devices obtained in this manner are shipped after image qualityinspection (refer to a symbol i in FIG. 3B).

In the solid imaging device to which an embodiment of the presentinvention is applied, since the seal glass is supported by the supportmembers formed on the ceramic support, a levelness of the seal glassmounted on the epoxy resin can be retained.

In short, even if the seal glass is disposed on epoxy resin in anon-cured state, a levelness of the seal glass can be retained becausethe support members support the seal glass.

Specifically, in the first fabrication method for the solid-stateimaging device, thermosetting epoxy resin is coated to cover the secondterminals and the fine gold wires connected to the second terminals(refer to the symbol d in FIG. 3A), the seal glass is disposed on theepoxy resin (refer to the symbol e in FIG. 3A) and the epoxy resin isthermally cured to fix the seal glass (refer to the symbol f in FIG. 3A). If the support members are not provided, it is necessary to supportthe seal glass disposed on the epoxy resin with the epoxy resin in thenon-cured state. There is therefore a possibility that the levelness ofthe seal glass may be lowered because the seal glass is disposed on theepoxy resin in the non-cured state. In contract, according to theembodiment in which the support members are formed on the ceramicsupport, since the seal glass disposed on the epoxy resin is supportedby the support members, the levelness of the seal glass can be retainedby the support members even if the epoxy resin is in the non-curedstate.

In the solid-state imaging device to which an embodiment of the presentinvention is applied, since the seal glass is supported at four corners,the levelness of the seal glass can be retained more than the seal glassis supported at four sides. This point will be explained with referenceto FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In a case as in a related art solid-state imaging device having astructure that the seal glass is supported at four sides, if anunintended projection 13 exists on a support surface of the seal glasscaused by deformation or the like, a position displacement more than aheight of the projection occurs at one side (a side on a symbol D sidein FIG. 5A) of the seal glass as the ceramic support supports anopposite side (a side on a symbol C side in FIG. 5A) . Specifically,there occurs a position displacement (a position displacement indicatedby a symbol S in FIG. 5A) higher than a height of the projection (aheight indicated by a symbol T in FIG. 5A)

In contrast, in the solid-state imaging device of the embodiment inwhich the four corners of the seal glass are supported, even if anunintended projection exists on the support surface of the seal glasscaused by deformation or the like, the extent of a position displacementof the seal glass caused by the projection can be suppressed not toexceed the height of the projection (a height indicated by a symbol T inFIG. 5B) (refer to FIG. 5B) . Supporting the four corners of the sealglass makes it possible to retain the levelness of the seal glass morethan the solid-state imaging device supporting the four sides asdescribed above.

In the solid-state imaging device according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, since the vent hole is formed in the ceramic support,it is possible to suppress a position displacement to be caused by atemperature/pressure difference in the sealed space while epoxy resin isthermally cured.

As described above, since the solid-state imaging device according tothe embodiment of the present invention can retain the levelness andsuppress a position displacement of the seal glass, it is expected thatan optical influence to be caused by the surface shape of thesolid-state imaging device can be suppressed.

According to the solid-state imaging device fabrication method (firstfabrication method) of the embodiment of the present invention, the sealglass is fixed on the epoxy resin by utilizing an adhesion force of theepoxy resin to be used for sealing, without using seal resin for fixingthe seal glass to the support members. It is therefore possible toperform fixing the seal glass and sealing with the epoxy resin by usinga single resin material.

According to the solid-state imaging device fabrication method (secondfabrication method) of the embodiment of the present invention, the sealglass is fixed to the support member by using sealing resin, andthereafter filling epoxy resin in the space between the ceramic supportand seal glass for sealing. Since the epoxy resin is filled (coated)after the seal glass is fixed, the seal glass can be mounted at a highprecision.

With the solid-state imaging device, the fabrication method thereof andthe camera module of the embodiments of the present invention describedabove, it becomes possible to make the size of the device compact andimprove a levelness of the optically-transparent member.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 20XX-XXXXXX filed in the Japanese Patent Office on XXXXX,20XX, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein byreference.

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising: a semiconductor packagesupport mounting a solid-state image sensor; bonding wires electricallyconnecting first terminals formed on the solid-state image sensor andsecond terminals formed on the semiconductor package support; a sealingmember sealing at least the second terminals to which the bonding wiresare connected; and an optically-transparent member made of an opticallytransparent material and disposed above the solid-state image sensor,wherein the optically-transparent member is supported by differentsupport members formed on the semiconductor package support at three ormore positions not on a single straight line.
 2. The solid-state imagingdevice according to claim 1, wherein: the support members are formed onthe semiconductor package support at at least three of four cornersthereof.
 3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1,wherein: the optically-transparent member is mounted on an upper surfaceof the sealing member.
 4. The solid-state imaging device according toclaim 1, wherein: the sealing member seals the bonding wires and thefirst terminals to which the bonding wires are connected.
 5. Afabrication method for a solid-state imaging device including: asemiconductor package support mounting a solid-state image sensor;bonding wires electrically connecting first terminals formed on thesolid-state image sensor and second terminals formed on thesemiconductor package support; a sealing member for sealing at least thesecond terminals to which the bonding wires are connected; and anoptically-transparent member made of an optically-transparent materialand disposed above the solid-state image sensor, wherein theoptically-transparent member is supported by different support membersformed on the semiconductor package support at three or more positionsnot on a single straight line, the fabrication method comprising thesteps of: mounting the solid-state image sensor on the semiconductorpackage support and electrically connecting the first terminals and thesecond terminals by the bonding wires; sealing the second terminals towhich the bonding wires are connected with a sealing member andthereafter disposing the optically-transparent member on the supportmembers and the sealing member; and curing the sealing member to fix theoptically-transparent member.
 6. A fabrication method for a solid-stateimaging device including: a semiconductor package support mounting asolid-state image sensor; bonding wires electrically connecting firstterminals formed on the solid-state image sensor and second terminalsformed on the semiconductor package support; a sealing member forsealing at least the second terminals to which the bonding wires areconnected; and an optically-transparent member made of anoptically-transparent material and disposed above the solid-state imagesensor, wherein the optically-transparent member is supported bydifferent support members formed on the semiconductor package support atthree or more positions not on a single straight line, the fabricationmethod comprising steps of: mounting the solid-state image sensor on thesemiconductor package support and electrically connecting the firstterminals and the second terminals by the bonding wires; disposing theoptically-transparent member on the support members by using a sealingmaterial to fix the optically-transparent member and thereafter sealingthe second terminals to which the bonding wires are connected with thesealing member; and curing the sealing member.
 7. A camera modulecomprising: a solid-state imaging device including a semiconductorpackage support mounting a solid-state image sensor; bonding wireselectrically connecting first terminals formed on the solid-state imagesensor and second terminals formed on the semiconductor package support;a sealing member for sealing at least the second terminals to which thebonding wires are connected; and an optically-transparent member made ofan optically-transparent material and disposed above the solid-stateimage sensor; a lens disposed above the solid-state imaging device; anda lens barrel for supporting the lens, wherein the optically-transparentmember is supported by different support members formed on thesemiconductor package support at three or more positions not on a singlestraight line.